Channing Tatum and the cast of 'Magic Mike'

In honor of Channing Tatum, the star of 21 Jump Street and The Vow whose stint as a stripper inspired Magic Mike (out June 29), this week’s cover does a little striptease of its own. Once you’ve taken in the sight of Tatum looking dapper all by himself, the flaps open to reveal a photo of him with his Magic Mike pals Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello (True Blood), and Matt Bomer (White Collar), all of whom play dancers at a male revue in the R-rated drama, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

(See Tatum and McConaughey talk about their best dance moves in a video below. For even more exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, visit us on Facebook.)

EW brought the group back together for a wet and wild photo shoot followed by a rowdy, booze-soaked dinner, where the costars swapped their best stories about acting, waxing, and baring (nearly) everything in their new film. “Actors, generally, if we finish our scenes early one day, we go home. It wasn’t like that on this set. Especially during the dances—we were there cheering everybody on,” says Tatum, who was there when a frenzied group of extras accidentally ripped off McConaughey’s thong during a dance number. “It was a collection of women being like, ‘I have to tip him,’ and then the weight of all the dollar bills in their hands just took [his thong] off,” Tatum recalls, laughing. Consummate actor that he is, McConaughey didn’t even break character. “I stayed in sequence,” he says proudly. “I went for the tuck. [Mimes covering his manhood] I went for the roll. [Mimes doing a forward roll] And I finished the dance.”

Watch the video below.

Manganiello, for one, had no problems with the movie’s wardrobe—or lack thereof. “When I came in for a meeting with the casting director, she hadn’t seen True Blood. So she said, “Are you going to be comfortable with partial nudity?” And I go, “Have you seen my show? I’m the poster child for that.”

For our full interview with the Magic Mike stars, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands Friday, May 18.

Julieta Cervantes

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